


Most Nights I Hardly Sleep

by daftydraw, JWMelmoth



Series: A Drop in the Ocean [3]
Category: Glee
Genre: Julian Smythe - Character, KB Week 2020, Kurtbastian Week, M/M, acitw, acitw au, adito
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:22:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27470419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daftydraw/pseuds/daftydraw, https://archiveofourown.org/users/JWMelmoth/pseuds/JWMelmoth
Summary: A flashback to pre-ACITW times as referenced in ADITO ch 12; Sebastian sees Kurt for the first time.
Relationships: Kurt Hummel/Sebastian Smythe
Series: A Drop in the Ocean [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736581
Comments: 10
Kudos: 45
Collections: Kurtbastian Week 2020





	Most Nights I Hardly Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> For KB Week 2020, Prompt: 'Coffee Shop'.

“Heyyy, what’s with the-” Julian slurred and gestured vaguely in Sebastian’s direction and frowned exaggeratedly, pausing just a little too long to find the right expression. “Long face?”

Sebastian shrugged. “Just wondering how the fuck we’re going to sober up enough to get home in time for me to get changed before mom and dad take me to Dalton.” He glanced out of the window of the coffee shop. Dawn was turning the sky orange and purple like a fading bruise. His head already throbbed a little, though his limbs still felt too light to be _real_. Their ‘goodbye to summer holidays’ celebration had gotten a little out of hand.

Julian snorted. “You’ll be fine, Seb. You’re the golden boy, remember? I doubt they’ll even notice.” He stuck the plastic stirrer from his empty coffee cup between his teeth and chewed it with gusto.

Sebastian scoffed and shook his head (a move which made the cups on the table briefly duplicate). He quickly stilled and tried to focus.

“Right. You’re telling me that neither mom or dad, who raised _you_ and Olivia, will notice when I crawl out of your car in three hours time looking and smelling worse than your old apartment?”

He smirked, a carbon copy of the smile on his brother’s lips as they both took in his outfit. He was wearing skinny jeans and a skintight metallic shirt, sweated through and stained with unidentifiable gunk from a long night at the bar. Glitter was sticking to his collar bones. 

Julian wasn’t looking much better. It was a good thing the morning staff at the Lima Bean were as apathetic as the Smythe brothers were inebriated, because no one had said anything as they had entered in the early hours of the day. They still had a long drive ahead of them, and neither were level-headed enough to get behind the wheel yet.

“Okay, so maybe you’ll be in trouble _a bit_ ,” Julian conceded. “But I’ll help talk you out if it. Besides, they can’t exactly ground you when you’re off to boarding school anyway, right?” He chuckled at his own genius. “I need to piss. Get us some more coffee, yeah?” Julian got up and punched his shoulder as he passed.

Sebastian sighed and tried to calculate how much time they’d need to sober up. It was tricky, as he couldn’t remember exactly how many drinks he’d had. The bell at the entry distracted him from his thoughts.

A boy and a girl entered. The girl was chatting animatedly and trying to engage the boy in conversation, but he looked dreamy and a little vacant, possibly a little tired. It was still early after all. They were about Sebastian’s age, and both had what looked like school bags slung over their shoulders. To the less observant (heteronormative) eye, they may have looked like a cute interracial couple - but Sebastian knew right away the boy was batting for the other team. Maybe it was prejudice; his fine features, his carefully styled hair, the way he held himself - poised, almost like a dancer - or maybe just a feeling inside of him that said ‘ _yes, you know him’_. 

It confused Sebastian a little. How could he _know_ him - they were perfect strangers. He went to boarding school two hours away and had lived abroad for months. And yet, something about this boy felt familiar, like rereading the page of a book he had been reading before falling asleep.

The boy finally tuned in to what the girl was telling him, and he laughed a little, his hand coming up to cover his mouth as he did, a gesture so shy and soft it almost felt like Sebastian was intruding just by seeing it. Then the boy said something, too quietly for Sebastian to understand, cocking his head so his hair flopped to the side. The girl smiled and nodded. They turned to the counter and ordered coffee. 

As they waited, Sebastian got the chance to study him. He was tall and slender, emphasised by the dimensions of his female companion, and his jeans hugged his legs in a way that Sebastian’s inebriated mind could really appreciate. He was wearing a tight, high collar button up shirt under a fitted waistcoat, half-hidden under a wrap shawl that (if Sebastian had any say in it) he really ought to take off straight away to show more of his arms. It- and the ugly neckerchief he was wearing- were really not doing him any favors. It was almost like he was trying to hide what was underneath.

The boy shook his head again, his hand coming up to check his hair straight away. The shawl slipped a little, and as he hiked it up gracefully, Sebastian suddenly realised who the boy reminded him of. Echoes of long brown hair, ballerina flats and chipped nailpolish appeared before his mind’s eye, more vivid than he had expected after a year and a long line of fleeting encounters and new experiences. 

Sebastian sucked in a breath, almost expecting to feel smoke in his lungs, and pushed his chair back a little. As he moved to get up, the floor swayed under his feet. He slapped his hand on the table to steady himself, wincing at the noise it made, but neither the boy or the girl looked in his direction. The world stopped spinning, but Sebastian realized now was not the time to get up and make a fool out of himself, especially not with-

“Dammit Seb, I thought I put you in charge of caffeine?” Julian said, strolling up to him. He let out a long-suffering sigh. “I’ll take care of it myself.”

Sebastian’s eyes immediately went to the counter, something in his chest shrinking at the thought of his big brother strutting up there in his current state, but to his relief, the boy and the girl had already taken their coffees to a booth and were now happily chatting away, far enough from the counter for Julian to notice them. Sebastian felt a pang of regret for not taking a chance when he’d had it, then nodded. “I’ll take a double. Do you have any smokes left?”

Julian fished a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, and Sebastian took two and the lighter, needing some fresh air and physical distance to clear his head.


End file.
